All Creatures Great And Small.

[quizmouse]

This quiz is about to close and so far there are many entries and payments which have not been recieved.
So this is a reminder......there is still just about time to submit your sheet.

NB There are over 70 quizzes requested which have not been returned or paid for. I am doing as much as I can to avoid not having to stop these being available via email as it saves entrants so much on postage but obviously if they are not sent in MAGPAS receives no funds. So I hope you dont mind me sending this reminder.
Of course, should it already be in the post, please accept my apologies and we look forward to it arriving shortly.
Diane

[quinie]

Hi,Diane I suppose that sort of thing will happen sometimes-if they don't finish the quiz some won't bother to send it back-so no money forthcoming. I'm afraid I never got round to finishing it or sending it back half-finished.I like sending for quizzes though I appreciate that postage can be hefty if you're a quizaholic.

[starone]

I have had an email telling me this, and have answered. I shall be sending a donation but I have not returned the quiz because I couldn't finish it. I only had a very few which I found difficult and under normal circumstances I would have asked for help in some way. However there were very definite instructions (actually an order) forbidding asking for help on internet sites. Perhaps this is the reason why there are so many unreturned copies. As I feel a trifle guilty I am sending a donation, but under the circumstances I shall not ask for any more. I know there is much hard work compiling quizzes, but not much point for me if I cannot complete them.

[Big Jenny]

You are probably getting more money for MAGPAS by issuing the quiz via email and receiving SOME back, than if you didn't issue it by email at all. It has cost you nothing to send those 70 quizzes by email, so if none were returned the charity hasn't lost anything. If, however, ten, twenty, thirty ARE returned, then you've made £10, £20 or £30 for MAGPAS which you wouldn't otherwise have done.

I get the idea that some people are a bit "possessive" about their quizzes, and can't bear the thought that others might see them - even do them (or some of them) - without actually paying for them. Does it really matter? The charity concerned is not losing anything. It can't lose what it never had in the first place.

[quizmouse]

Thank you for your comments which I have taken on board. Many apologies to starone for taking my request for no asking as an order, but it is definitely what most of my regular participants want, so I am trying to oblige. of course I would expect many ask for help within their circle of friends and family, which is fine, but as it has not been all over here and other question sites I have had persons asking for the quiz up until very recently, which they would not otherwise do. There is also a prize for one random entry, so many, many people send in entries unfinished with their donation, presumably to stand some chance of winning that prize.
However, we can only please some of the people some of the time as opposed to all the people all of the time.
What I am trying to avoid is, not allowing those who wish, to apply via email. Maybe a paypal type of system would help, but of course they all take a percentage, as far as I am aware.
thanks anyway for your support, whether past, presernt or future, I am sure MAGPAS is very grateful.

[quizmouse]

Point taken bigjenny but actually many of the email requests have been from those who before I agreed to send it via email, would have sent for it via the mail, so it has made a considerable difference on both occasions. However, we will press on and see how we can best solve this ongoing issue, if it is possible at all.

[starone]

But surely, diane, the ones who ask for a latish copy, albeit in time to complete and send back, outweigh the ones, like me, who do not send back their emailed ones because they cannot complete without help.

[starone]

Sorry that last answer should be round the other way, the emails should be more than the late requests so should be catered for. Oh, well, I am getting muddled here but I hope you know what I mean.

[cornelia 1]

I have sent mine back in the last few days (plus my usual dose of used stamps for you)
Please keep the e-mail version running as due to the oncoming increase in postage costs I will only be able to support those that are available this way or support less charities.I do not have a pay pal account so this would not be suitable for myself.

[pixie373]

Surely you pay for the quiz, not for the return? If you're sending them out free, you will lose some. I don't return any that aren't finished, either.

[roopower]

I have e-mailed you a reply quiz mouse. I don't seem to have received the quiz. I've looked through my emails and when I requested it you were having computer problems. I must apologise as I forgot it after that. I don't suppose there's time now but I'll definitely have the next one.
As to sending back unfinished quizzes, I return them unfinished if there's a chance of a prize for all those returned. The cost of postage is going up again so I'll have to think about what quizzes I do now, I'm afraid. It's amazing how the cost mounts up!

[boxtops]

Why don't you ask people to send payment before you email the quiz to them? At least you would then have the income, whether they return them or not!

[quizmouse]

The problem boxtops is how they pay before emailling? If they send it via post it means an extra stamp which is a lot to ask. It has been suggested that a just giving page be created but of course they take a cut so the revenue is decreased. It seems easier to trust those who ask for emailledcopies to send in their contribution, at a point which suits them, I would expect toward closure of the quiz. Of course I do have several who send in one donation say £10 which lasts then several quizzes and saves the bother in between but it would not suit everyone and creates a little more record keeping here.

[furrypusscat]

Hi quizmouse, sent mine in with lots of blanks with payment on Friday. As a quiz setter, I have only sent out by email after receiving PayPal payment or prepaid through postal system although I do send some out by email to trusted applicants who have never let me down. I had wondered whether to start and send out by email but I feel that some will want the quiz, enjoy doing it and not bother sending it in which the charity then does lose out and which seems unfair on the applicants that pay for the privilege of completing the quiz who send in or don't bother for whatever reason. It is difficult but if I do start sending them out, I will keep a list of the ones that don't return and pay, if they fail twice I will refuse to send again.

Re PayPal charges, when I set my first quiz that way I wasn't sure of the charges so I set the quiz at £1.40p, that way it was cheaper than postage and quizzes can be returned by email also. When I checked my PayPal statement there was only a reduction of .25p per quiz so each quiz actually makes me .15p extra. As the quiz charge was then already set I decided it was easier to keep at that cost rather than upset things by changing it and confusing everyone. The extra amount goes to the charity anyway.

Cornelia, you don't need to have a PayPal account, you just give your card details when buying the quiz which only PayPal have sight of.

[smouse]

No matter how hard a quiz or how few I could do I would never ask for a quiz by email and then not pay for it that will ruin it for the ones of us who do so many we are happy to be able to get it by email

[Big Jenny]

Furrypusscat, how does the charity lose out if some of the people who ask for a quiz by email fail to send it in? As I said before, it costs nothing to send a quiz out by email, so if the recipient decides not to return it, the charity hasn't lost a penny. I would never get involved in paying by PayPal. I am happy to send in by post for a quiz if email is not an option, (though that may soon change when the postage charges increase), but prefer email pay on return.

I think the biggest problem seems to be that people are terrified of anyone getting hold of a copy of their quizzes, without having paid first. What are they afraid of? That an odd few people might get a little bit of pleasure or enjoyment for nothing? Oh dear, how terrible.

[pixie373]

Big jenny, that doesn't make sense if the aim is to raise money for charity. Get people to pay for the quiz first, or half for quiz and half on return...